Inspired by Irene Roderick's quilts displayed at QuiltCon, I purchased her book Dancing With The Wall by Irene Roderick. I find Irene's work to be fascinating and while I hope to take a class from her one day, this book was the next best thing.
The process of creating this quilt has been so very interesting for me. Besides using her book for some starting points for improv blocks, I followed her concept about leaving the piece on an otherwise empty design wall. It sat there for 4 months and I captured progress shots along the way - from getting started (mid-May) to making block (mid July) to combining block (early August) to almost done (mid-September). It is quite interesting to see all the places it has been!
The quilt is now basted and I plan a combination of dense walking foot quilting plus some big stitch. I can't wait to get started!
All four of these photos are an audition of which version I like better. The first orientation shared is the way the quilt has displayed on my design wall for months. But I'm leaning towards the third one. The uncertainty is where the quilt name Which Way is Up? originates from!
Which one do you like best?
The quilt has an entirely different feeling in each of the orientations. I don't think you can go wrong with whichever you choose, and I hope that the time you spend quilting it helps give you confidence in the direction you choose for "up".
ReplyDeleteAll orientations look great, not an easy decision. The pattern is really eye-catching, as your quilt will be too.
ReplyDeleteLove your quilt. All the orientations are lovely but I think 1 and 3 are my favorites.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of your group quilt from last year, in some ways. I don't know which orientation I would go for...maybe 2 but they are all interesting!
ReplyDeleteI like them all, but my eyes like the first one because it sees trees and made up a strong conservation theme! Amazing work!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting to turn a quilt design different directions? There's always something new to see. I guess I still like the first version because of those "light-weight" boxes at the top. When they're at the bottom, I think they'll be crushed! :-) But honestly, any of the first three work for me. I think it's simply wonderful that you were able to take off like this, using only Irene's book, to come up with such a wonderful design. Whether it's because Irene's book is so edifying, or you're just a natural (which I already know you are), it's a great design. I'm excited for you to machine quilt and big stitch quilt it. You're planning to do that, right? There are so many fun stitching design possibilities!
ReplyDeleteYour improv quilt is beautiful, I love the 4 versions ;) They all tell a different story.
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